ˈwater-board
† 1. A board to throw off water; a gutter, louver-board, or the like. Obs.
| 1417 For. Acc. 8 Hen. V D/2 In diuersis peciis Maeremii Bordis vocatis Waynescotbordis Waterbordis Shipbordis Englisshbordis [etc.]. 1477–9 Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1904) 85 To a Carpynter, for his labour, a principall post & a watir borde, xx d. 1585 Higins Junius' Nomencl. 210/2 Deliquiæ,..water boords, or weather bordes: gutters whereinto the house eaues doe drop. |
b. (See quot.)
| 1815 Falconer's Dict. Marine (ed. Burney), Water-Boards or Weather-Boards of a boat, are large boards used to keep out the waves or spray of the sea. |
† 2. A sideboard upon which the water to be served at a meal was placed. Obs.
| 1474 in Househ. Ord. (1790) *32 If any man come to late to mattyns..he shall sytt at the water boarde, and have nothinge unto his dynner but breade and water. |
3. (Written Water Board.) An administrative body having control of the supply of water to a town or district.
| 1902 Daily Chron. 18 Jan. 6/1 The full title of Mr. Long's promised measure is ‘A Bill for establishing a Water Board to manage the supply of water within London and certain adjoining districts’. |